Portland Trail Blazers forward Jake Layman did not play in last night’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Will this continue moving forward?
Jake Layman did not receive any minutes in last night’s game for the Portland Trail Blazers. Layman had started for the Blazers in all of their previous 19 games. However, Maurice Harkless took his spot in the starting lineup, and Layman did not see minutes off the bench.
Evan Turner is locked in as the team’s backup small forward, while Al-Farouq Aminu and Meyers Leonard should continue to see the majority of the minutes at power forward. This leaves Layman on the outside looking in.
Layman is listed as healthy and the situation has not been addressed by the coaching staff.
Although Harkless is better than defender than Layman, it is strange that the Trail Blazers would suddenly steer away from him. The team is on a three-game losing streak and have struggled to shoot the ball from three-point range. Layman is a 38.5% shooter from deep and the Blazers played well this season with him in the starting lineup.
Layman does not necessarily need to take another player’s spot in the rotation either. In last night’s loss, Aminu played 31 minutes and Turner played 27 minutes. To match his season average of 15 minutes, Layman could simply take eight of Aminu’s minutes and seven of Turner’s.
Layman is not just a strong three-point shooter, as he is also shooting a scorching 64.9% from two-point range. Layman, an efficient offensive forward, would fit well on the floor with Harkless or Aminu.
While Terry Stotts does have some solid options at the forward positions, he does not have anyone who can score from all three levels. Turner struggles to shoot threes, Aminu is not a strong scorer, and Harkless has been an inconsistent shooter. Layman is already showing promise at 24 years old. Stotts would be wise to give him minutes.